In the Company of Women

Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs

“I want to rip out every page of this glorious book and hang them on my wall so that I can be surrounded by these incredible women all day long.” —Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers and Modern Lovers

Over 100 exceptional and influential women describe how they embraced their creative spirit, overcame adversity, and sparked a global movement of entrepreneurship. Media titans and ceramicists, hoteliers and tattoo artists, comedians and architects—taken together, these profiles paint a beautiful picture of what happens when we pursue our passions and dreams.

Books also available at

Look Inside

Meet the Author

Grace Bonney

Review quotes

“A triumphant compendium of interviews with more than 100 female entrepreneurs, from activists to designers to bakers. . . . The interviews are accompanied by stunning portraits of the women in their homes and work spaces.”—Elle

“So inspiring!”—Good Morning America

“One of the Ten Most Un-Put-Downable Reads of the Year”—Essence

“Surprising, real, and illuminating.”—Vogue.com

“Bonney continues to inspire as she offers what she calls ‘visibility for powerful women in business.’ Whether they’re artists, chefs, tattoo artists or writers, creative women of all colors, ages, sexualities and experience share their fears, mistakes and successes.”—Los Angeles Times

“Bonney’s quietly radical, profoundly moving project brings together short interviews with a diverse group of women who share insight on their life’s work. . . . Gorgeous photographs reveal a kaleidoscope of joyful enterprise. Small business owners and poets, chefs and cartoonists, potters and musicians all give generous, humorous counsel to taking risks and following one’s heart. Their creativity is so inspiring that this book should be in every female’s possession, especially young girls in need of positive role models and old girls looking for a kick. Seeing women of so many ethnicities, backgrounds, and abilities successfully living their dreams is totally uplifting.”—Bust

“Learn how to break the glass ceiling from one of the many talented self-starters profiled in Grace Bonney’s In the Company of Women. . . . Sage business advice.”—Martha Stewart Living

"In the Company of Women tells the stories of more than 100 women who work for themselves—artists, writers, designers, chefs, musicians. [Author Grace Bonney] talks to established names like Eileen Fisher and Roxane Gay, and women who are just launching their fledgling careers. . . . [A] beautifully diverse range of voices, all of them weighing in on lessons they’ve learned, mistakes they've made, traits they're proud of, characteristics they admire in others and so on.”—The Chicago Tribune

“This inspiring book encapsulates the stories of more than 100 creative women in the areas of design, visual arts, culinary arts, literature, and show business in short Q&As about the lessons they’ve learned on their journeys to success.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“[This book] acts as a source of inspiration for anyone, regardless of gender, who’s running a business, or thinking about it.”—Booklist, starred review

“Give the gift of empowerment with this inspiring compilation of interviews. . . . Wrap this up for a recent grad, creative mind, or anyone looking for a healthy dose of girl power.”—RealSimple.com

“Grace’s excellent book is full of empowering business advice from a diverse group of inspirational and talented women.”—Martha Stewart

“Grace Bonney has given us our favorite icons, heroes, and bandit queens in one of the oldest living forms of communication: a book. Enjoy, dear readers, for each page turn is a meditation on the power of the Divine Feminine.”—Jill Soloway, creator of Transparent

“These amazing stories will surely spark something deep within us all: the courage to dream and the fortitude to make those dreams happen.”—Joanna Gaines, owner of Magnolia, host of HGTV’s Fixer Upper

“A joyful book that celebrates both the diversity of beauty and the beauty of diversity: in race, age, size, sexuality, and ways of thinking.”—Hanya Yanagihara, New York Times bestselling author of A Little Life

“I want to rip out every page of this glorious book and hang them on my wall so that I can be surrounded by these incredible women all day long.”—Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers and Modern Lovers

“A world of insight from an array of intriguing, trailblazing women. And the photography is gorgeous!” —Padma Lakshmi, author of Love, Loss, and What We Ate: A Memoir

“I hope this book becomes an almanac that will continue to expound on the work and the lives of everyday cis, trans, and queer women and women of color who are building and becoming businesses, and that will remind other exceptional women that they are in good company.”—Angelica Ross, founder of TransTech and star of Her Story